VOLUNTEERS and staff at community newspaper Leys News are celebrating after winning a £3,000 package of advice in a competition.

Leys News, launched in 1996 as a one-page newsletter which came out four times a year, has grown into a 20-page full-colour tabloid with a print run of about 6,000.

Its voluntary management board hopes the prize, from the Oxford Mail's sister publication In Business magazine, will allow it to grow into a monthly publication. At the moment, it is published six times a year and distributed free to every household.

Editor Kate Griffin said: "The advice we have won will give us the structure we need to become more competitive and serve the community better.

"We have been planning to go monthly for the last three years, but we haven't been able to achieve it. We need someone from outside to give us a new impetus."

The prize - 30 hours of free expert consultancy with an estimated value of £3,000 - is provided by Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, accountants and business advisers Critchleys Chartered Accountants and business advisers corporate support firm Croner Consulting.

Matthew Dillon, from Lloyds TSB, said: "We are looking forward to helping Leys News to identify ways to support their growth ambitions and release the locked-in value from their business." Eric Burrow, business manager with Croner Consulting, said: "New laws on age discrimination and fire safety mean businesses need to become more legally compliant. Croner Consulting will help Leys News with a tailored legal compliance solution." Mark Rusher, from Critchleys, added: "We are delighted to be involved in helping Leys News to work out how to expand the very valuable service it provides to the local community."